Gunners inch closer to point of no return
Mqondisi Dube | Saturday April 1, 2023 06:00
The echo for survival in the hills that provide panoramic views of Lobatse is growing fainter. Gunners’ voice is fading and the rescue mission could soon be aborted, despite 10 games remaining in the season.
Gunners are about to go out without even raising a sweat; their efforts to avoid the axe have been meek like a gentle lamb to the slaughter. Soon the heartbeat of Lobatse could breathe its last in the Premier League.
It will be heart-wrenching but it has appeared inevitable for long periods in recent seasons. Gunners have perilously danced with death but inexplicably survived.
However, this time it is no longer about ‘crying wolfs’, the wolf is already in the house devouring the crossed guns.
After 20 games, Gunners bring the rear in the 16-team assembly.
Even a lacklustre Mogoditshane Fighters, 6-1 losers against Security Systems on Wednesday, are above Gunners. Prisons XI have also been battered and bruised through heavy losses, but they are still found way above a club that has become the epitome of a poorly managed precious resource.
Gunners are a rare species that command a massive following and have never been relegated from the Premier League, a static that could change in the next 10 games.
The writing has frequently been on the wall and it is a warning successive administrators have failed to heed.
Relegation now looks inescapable and headlong, Gunners will plunge into the First Division. The only consolation is that if Gunners go down, they will not be short of good company. Mochudi Centre Chiefs, Notwane and any of Prisons XI, Mogoditshane Fighters, and Holy Ghost could add to the already stiff competition in the Debswana First Division South.
This could spell doom as a return for Gunners might prove a difficult task. Some popular clubs were relegated never to return and history could cruelly repeat itself in Lobatse.
The red flags have constantly popped up and the Lobatse giants have chosen to bury their head in the sand.
As a result, the problem stuck like glue and Gunners supporters had to live with constant ridicule from rival fans of Township Rollers and Gaborone United who have enjoyed relatively successful stints since their return from the dusty grounds in 2005.
In particular, GU has a long and painful story to tell about five seasons of huffing and puffing in the First Division. Rollers briefly joined them in 2004, before a decision was made to increase the league from 12 to 16 teams, which was seen as a deliberate move to accommodate the two struggling giants. While Rollers and GU returned to the league in 2005, they found a Gunners side in terminal decline. Ezimnyama were playing second fiddle, particularly to institutional teams like Mogoditshane Fighters, BDF XI and Police XI.
Rollers announced their return in style, winning the league in 2005, while GU took it in 2009. From then on, it was a see-saw between Rollers and Chiefs who enjoyed considerable success before the demise of the Kgatleng side in 2018. GU, Gunners, Rollers and Chiefs are the undisputed crowd pullers but the Lobatse side has stood as the odd one out.
Out of the quartet, Gunners are the only side without a league title since the turn of the millennium. Chiefs were relegated after harvesting a few domestic titles and participating in CAF club competitions. Rollers have been on top of its game, while GU is a resurgent side, but the same cannot be said for Gunners. The black and white outfit has seen its fortunes take a sharp nosedive largely due to boardroom issues. Twice have Gunners been denied a licence to play in the Premier League under the Club Licensing requirements, and twice they have been bailed out.
However, the issues have stood out like a sore thumb and it seems nothing can rescue Gunners from the looming chop.
The club has had several issues brought before the Dispute Resolution Chamber over failure to keep up with salary payments.
That Gunners are without a player in the current Zebras set-up speaks to how the situation has deteriorated for a side that has in recent years seen top talent like Tshepiso ‘Talk-Talk’ Motlhabankwe, the loyal Finkie Mothibi, Mothusi Cooper, Dirang Moloi, don the famous jersey. However, it has been difficult for the club to retain talent due to the precarious financial position, with most players immediately seeking moves away once established. Only Mothibi has remained loyal to the club over the years, while the majority of performing players were snapped by other teams.
Gunners failed to beat Prisons XI in a relegation six-pointer on Wednesday, contributing to further gloom. The 2-2 deadlock meant Gunners have accumulated only 11 points from 20 games.
This translates to a meagre 1.8 points per game, with Mapantsula winning only two games, while losing a whopping 13, with only a third of the season left. Technical bench changes have not brought the desired results and although Gunners still have 10 games to save their season, the foreboding feeling has already enveloped Lobatse.